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How to Feng Shui Your Entryway

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Feng shui is an ancient Chinese method of manipulating your physical surroundings to encourage the beneficial flow of positive life force, or chi. In our homes, having good feng shui means that the spaces are open and provide balance or harmony between positive and negative energy. Some view the chi of feng shui as a superstition, but having a harmonious and open space is a good rule of thumb for interior design whether you subscribe to the mystical elements of the practice or not.

Step 1: Create brightness with color and light

The entryway of a home is also the entrance of chi, the beneficial life force, so it is important to remove as many blockages of the chi as possible. Darkness is one of these blockages. If a visitor steps into your entryway and it is dark, it creates a feeling of oppression and unwelcoming energy. Paint the hall of the entryway a bright color, and paint the door red for good luck, or black to attract wealth. Make sure the foyer entryway has plenty of light. If there is no window, install a natural-looking light fixture.

Step 2: Remove clutter

Clutter in an entryway blocks the chi from circulating throughout the home, and it is also an unsightly greeting for your guests. Seeing clutter when you first walk in your own door also makes it more difficult to relax in your space. Remove any unnecessary objects from the foyer entryway, including bulky coat racks or large pieces of furniture.

According to Sally Fretwell, author of Feng Shui: Back to Balance, the entryway should be a transitional area, not a resting place for our clutter, energy or physical bodies.

Step 3: Block staircases

When an entryway opens directly on a staircase, feng shui practitioners believe the chi is funneled up the staircase instead of around the first floor of the home. If you don't really use the staircase, you can put a small plant at the foot of it to block the escaping chi. Be careful that anything you put there doesn’t end up being a tripping hazard. You can also install a crystal chandelier above the staircase, according to Gill Hale's Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui, because the crystals will trap the chi. Spiral staircases will actually funnel the chi out of the home completely, so be sure to block the chi from these stairs in your entryway design.

Step 4: Accessorize

Once you have a bright, clean foyer entryway design, the last step is to make it feel as open and inviting as possible with accessories. This can be difficult in a narrow space or in a foyer with a low ceiling. You can hang a few mirrors in the space, which will make a smaller entry room appear larger. You can also hang an outdoor landscape painting so that it is the first thing you see when you open the door. This will contribute to the transitional feeling of coming from the outside into a home. Increase the welcoming feeling of the entryway by putting out very few knick-knacks, and only those with positive associations.